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Survivor
Series 3
Promotional poster
Presented byJoel Dommett
No. of days34
No. of castaways18
WinnerMatthew Haywood
Runners-upChristopher Haul
Leilani Sen
LocationPuerto Plata,
Dominican Republic
No. of episodes16
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original release28 October (2023-10-28) –
16 December 2023 (2023-12-16)
Additional information
Filming datesSummer 2023
Series chronology
← Previous
Survivor: Panama
(on ITV)

Survivor (British series 3), also known as Survivor 2023 or simply Survivor is the first and only series of the competitive reality television series Survivor on the BBC. The series was filmed in the Summer of 2023 and began airing in October of the same year.[1][2] The series began with the 18 contestants being marooned on two remote beaches in the María Trinidad Sánchez Province in the Dominican Republic. Hosted by comedian Joel Dommett, it consisted of 16 episodes following the 34 days of the series, with one contestant being eliminated by a majority vote per episode, and the winner being awarded a grand prize of £100,000.[3][4]

Now airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer,[5] the series was a continuation of the British edition of the Survivor franchise following a lengthy hiatus after the first and second series failed to live up to the critical praise, commercial success and cultural impact of the early seasons of the American version when they aired in the early 2000s, as they received mostly negative reviews and lower ratings than expected after airing on ITV.[6][7][8]

The contestants were initially separated into two tribes, Caletón and La Nena, each named after the names of the beaches they were on. When 11 players remained, the contestants merged into one tribe, Calena, a portmanteau of the original two tribe names.[9] The series was won by Matthew Haywood,[10] defeating Christopher Haul and Leilani Sen in a 6–1–1 jury vote to earn the title of Sole Survivor and be awarded the £100,000 grand prize.[11][12]

Production

[edit]

Following the Banijay Group's acquisition of Castaway Productions, who own the Survivor format, it was said in 2017 that the company were looking to revive Survivor in the UK. Banijay's CEO Peter Langenberg spoke to Broadcast about the potential return, stating that RDF, the largest UK production company within Banijay, is attempting to rekindle interest in the format amongst broadcasters. He explained: "Having hands on the format means we can polish it and come up with Survivor 2.0, because it needs a refresh".[13]

Reports began circulating again in 2022 that the series would be revived, this time with BBC One said to be the potential new home of the series. Broadcast reported that the revival deal for Survivor is "on the brink", and that if the deal is finalised, the third series of the programme will be filmed in 2023 with thirteen episodes.[14] Digital Spy's Daniel Kilkelly put forward his hopes for a revival of the programme. He felt that the key reasons for the series' initial failure lay with having a pre-recorded format which meant that viewers had no say into the events of the series. However, Kilkelly opined that the success of The Apprentice and The Great British Bake Off, both of which use pre-recorded formats, suggested that the British audience would now be ready to support a Survivor format. In September 2022, it was confirmed that Remarkable Entertainment (a subsidiary of Banijay) would produce a new series and would air on BBC One in 2023 consisting of 16 episodes.[15][16][17] The season was then announced to be filmed in the Dominican Republic on a beach called Playa Caleton, a location where no other Survivor season had ever shot before. The temperatures were able to reach as high as 34 degrees.[18][19]

Contestant applications opened on 24 November. When casting, thousands from around the UK were in consideration but it was narrowed down to 18 for the final cast of the season.[20] With the announcement of the application process, the prize of £100,000 was revealed.[21][22] On 17 February 2023, Joel Dommett was confirmed as host of the revival, which he was excited about, stating "I’m the new host of the UK’s Survivor! I can't believe it! A huge thank you to the BBC for trusting me with this".[1][23]

International airing

[edit]

The series is aired on 10Play in Australia, with episodes available on a Sunday and Monday at 8:30pm AEDT,[24] and in New Zealand on TVNZ+.[25]

Contestants

[edit]

The season's cast was composed of 18 players from around the United Kingdom, divided into two tribes; La Nena and Caletón, both named after beaches in the Dominican Republic.[8] Notable figures on the cast include footballer Hannah Baptiste, boxer Lee Reeves, ex-popstar Leilani Sen, and surfing instructor Pegleg Bennett.[26]

List of Survivor 2023 contestants
Contestant Age Residence Tribe Finish
Original First
switch 		Second
switch 		Merged Placement Day
Richard Kinnear McKell 36 Dalkeith,
Scotland 		Caletón 1st voted out Day 2
Sabrina Pace-Humphreys 45 Stroud,
England 		La Nena 2nd voted out Day 5
Rachel "Rach" Carstairs 23 Glasgow,
Scotland 		3rd voted out Day 7
Rachel Golding 40 Whitstable,
England 		Caletón Caletón 4th voted out Day 13
Ren Elvidge 28 London,
England 		La Nena La Nena La Nena 5th voted out Day 15
Jess Woburn 38 London,
England 		Caletón Caletón Caletón 6th voted out Day 17
Shai Ravindra 33 London,
England 		7th voted out Day 18
Lee Reeves 28 Belfast,
Northern Ireland 		La Nena La Nena La Nena Calena 8th voted out
1st jury member 		Day 20
Ashleigh Bishop 34 London,
England 		9th voted out
2nd jury member 		Day 21
Douglas "Doug" Swinbanks 32 Isle of Mull,
Scotland 		Caletón 10th voted out
3rd jury member 		Day 24
Tinuke Oyediran 30 London,
England 		Caletón Caletón La Nena 11th voted out
4th jury member 		Day 26
Laurence-Maximilian Cardwell 29 London,
England 		Caletón 12th voted out
5th jury member 		Day 28
Nathan Dyke 35 Manchester,
England 		13th voted out
6th jury member 		Day 30
Pegleg Bennett 54 St Agnes,
England 		La Nena La Nena 14th voted out
7th jury member 		Day 32
Hannah Baptiste 30 London,
England 		La Nena 15th voted out
8th jury member 		Day 33
Christopher Haul 36 Bridgend,
Wales 		Co-runners-up Day 34
Leilani Sen 45 Hertford,
England 		Caletón
Matthew Haywood 21 Cumbria,
England 		Caletón Sole Survivor

Season summary

[edit]
The series was filmed on the island of Playa Caleton, Dominican Republic

In the beginning, 18 contestants were divided into two tribes – Caletón and La Nena. Though La Nena fared slightly stronger in challenges, both tribes kept an even number of members during the early phase of the game. They differed on reasons why they voted people out of the game as Caletón prioritized challenge strength, while La Nena tended to vote people out based on their social skills. On Day 10, Leilani was voted out of Caletón but instead of being eliminated, she was sent to La Nena – the series' first tribe switch.

Shortly after, there was a second tribe switch in which two members from each tribe changed. As a result of this switch, Caletón started to lose frequently. However, Doug and Pegleg, who were new to the tribe, managed to survive the votes by forming strong relationships with the original Caletón members.

On Day 19, the two tribes merged into Calena. Despite planning an alliance, the original La Nena members proved to be too dysfunctional to work together, causing multiple schemes that resulted in the elimination of original La Nena member Lee. Consensus targets Ashleigh and Doug were then targeted and voted out – both of whom originated from La Nena, giving original Caletón the lead in numbers. Sensing trouble, outsider Christopher convinced ex-Caletón member Matthew to flip on his alliance by telling him he was at the bottom of it and that Tinuke was running it. The plan worked and the flip initiated a streak of Caletón members being eliminated.

The final 6 of the series was divided into three tight duos: Christopher and Matthew, Nathan and Leilani, and Hannah and Pegleg. Each duo was fighting for the votes of another to gain a majority, resulting in Hannah and Pegleg being the swing vote. Ultimately, they chose to vote out Nathan alongside Christopher and Matthew. Christopher and Matthew then used this to their advantage by recruiting Leilani into their alliance and voting out Pegleg and Hannah as revenge at the final 4 and 5 respectively, making them the final 3 contestants.

During the Final Tribal Council, the jury mostly discarded Leilani's gameplay, considering it incompetent. Christopher received mixed reactions from them for his frantic gameplay and shaky relationships but was praised for his challenge ability. On the other hand, Matthew's well-timed gameplay decisions and strategic use of his young age to be underestimated was applauded by the jury, which led them to award him the win in a 6–1–1 vote.

Challenge winners and eliminations by episode
Episode Challenge Winner(s) Eliminated
No. BBC iPlayer Release BBC One Broadcast Reward Immunity Tribe Player
1 28 October 2023 La Nena La Nena Caletón Richard
2 28 October 2023 29 October 2023 La Nena Caletón La Nena Sabrina
3 4 November 2023 None Caletón La Nena Rach
4 4 November 2023 5 November 2023 Caletón La Nena None
5 11 November 2023 Tie[a] La Nena Caletón Rachel
6 11 November 2023 12 November 2023 None Caletón La Nena Ren
7 18 November 2023 La Nena La Nena Caletón Jess
8 18 November 2023 19 November 2023 None La Nena Caletón Shai
9 25 November 2023 Survivor Auction Doug Calena Lee
10 25 November 2023 26 November 2023 None Pegleg Ashleigh
11 2 December 2023 Christopher,
Doug,
Matthew,
Tinuke
Pegleg[b] 		Tinuke Doug
12 2 December 2023 3 December 2023 Christopher,
Matthew
[Laurence] 		Laurence Tinuke
13 9 December 2023 None Christopher Laurence
14 9 December 2023 10 December 2023 Christopher
[Hannah,
Pegleg] 		Pegleg Nathan
15 16 December 2023 None Christopher Pegleg
16 None Christopher Hannah
In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.
  1. ^ In the final round, Christopher and Rachel both received injuries causing Joel to stop the challenge. Both tribes were eventually awarded the prize for the challenge winners.
  2. ^ Pegleg was not selected for a team, however he correctly guessed the winning team, and he joined them on reward.

Episodes

[edit]
No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleTimelineBBC One airdateBBC iPlayer releaseUK viewers
(millions) [27]		Weekly Rank [27]
271"Episode 1"Days 1–228 October 2023 (2023-10-28)28 October 20233.16#35
282"Episode 2"Days 3–529 October 2023 (2023-10-29)28 October 20232.89#43
293"Episode 3"Days 6–74 November 2023 (2023-11-04)4 November 2023<(2.79)N/A
304"Episode 4"Days 8–105 November 2023 (2023-11-05)4 November 2023<(2.79)N/A
315"Episode 5"Days 11–1311 November 2023 (2023-11-11)11 November 20232.90#45
326"Episode 6"Days 14–1512 November 2023 (2023-11-12)11 November 20232.83#47
337"Episode 7"Days 16–1718 November 2023 (2023-11-18)18 November 2023<(2.79)N/A
348"Episode 8"Day 1819 November 2023 (2023-11-19)18 November 2023<(2.79)N/A
359"Episode 9"Days 19–2025 November 2023 (2023-11-25)25 November 2023<(2.77)N/A
3610"Episode 10"Day 2126 November 2023 (2023-11-26)25 November 2023<(2.77)N/A
3711"Episode 11"Days 22–242 December 2023 (2023-12-02)2 December 2023<(2.70)N/A
3812"Episode 12"Days 25–263 December 2023 (2023-12-03)2 December 2023<(2.70)N/A
3913"Episode 13"Days 27–289 December 2023 (2023-12-09)9 December 2023<(2.80)N/A
4014"Episode 14"Days 29–3010 December 2023 (2023-12-10)9 December 2023<(2.80)N/A
4115"The Finals – Part 1"Days 31–3216 December 2023 (2023-12-16)16 December 20232.57#49
4216"The Finals – Part 2"Days 33–3416 December 2023 (2023-12-16)16 December 20233.01#36

Voting history

[edit]
Original Tribes First
switch 		Second switch Merged Tribe
Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day 2 5 7 10 13 15 17 18 20 21 24 26 28 30 32 33
Tribe Caletón La Nena La Nena Caletón Caletón La Nena Caletón Caletón Calena Calena Calena Calena Calena Calena Calena Calena
Eliminated Richard Sabrina Rach Leilani[a] Rachel Ren Jess Shai Lee Ashleigh Doug Tinuke Laurence Nathan Pegleg Hannah
Vote 7–1–1 5–2–2 5–3 7–1 5–2 5–2–1 4–2 3–2 7–4 4–2–0[b] 5–3–2 4–3–1 5–1–1 4–2 4–1 3–1
Voter Votes
Matthew Richard Leilani Rachel Ren Lee Christopher Doug Tinuke Laurence Nathan Pegleg Hannah
Christopher Sabrina Rach Ren Lee Nathan Leilani Leilani[c] Tinuke Laurence Nathan Pegleg Hannah
Leilani Richard Rachel Ren Lee Ashleigh Doug Christopher Pegleg Christopher Pegleg Hannah
Hannah Ashleigh Rach Ashleigh Ashleigh Ashleigh Christopher Tinuke Laurence Nathan Pegleg Leilani
Pegleg Rach Ashleigh Jess Shai Ashleigh Christopher Christopher Tinuke Laurence Nathan Matthew
Nathan Richard Leilani Rachel Doug Shai Lee Ashleigh Doug Christopher Laurence Christopher
Laurence Richard Leilani Rachel Jess Nathan Lee Christopher Doug Pegleg Hannah
Tinuke Richard Leilani Rachel Ren Lee Christopher Doug Christopher
Doug Sabrina Rach Jess Shai Ashleigh Ashleigh Christopher
Ashleigh Sabrina Rach Ren Lee Nathan
Lee Rach Ashleigh Leilani Ashleigh
Shai Richard Leilani Rachel Jess Nathan
Jess Shai Leilani Laurence Doug
Ren Sabrina Rach Ashleigh
Rachel Richard Leilani Laurence
Rach Sabrina Ashleigh
Sabrina Ashleigh
Richard Leilani
Jury vote
Episode 16
Day 34
Finalist Matthew Christopher Leilani
Vote 6–1–1
Juror Votes
Hannah Yes
Pegleg Yes
Nathan Yes
Laurence Yes
Tinuke Yes
Doug Yes
Ashleigh Yes
Lee Yes
Notes
  1. ^ Before voting, Caletón were informed that the person voted out would not be eliminated, and instead would switch tribes and join La Nena. Leilani joined La Nena after being voted out.
  2. ^ Christopher played a hidden immunity idol on himself; therefore, 4 votes cast against him did not count.
  3. ^ Christopher played an extra vote advantage, allowing him to cast two votes.

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

Survivor 2023 initially received mixed-to-negative reviews but they grew far more positive over the course of its run. Initially negative reception was targeted at its music, the cast, and Joel Dommett as host. Aine Toner of Belfast Telegraph was underwhelmed by the series, writing "Joel Dommett christens Survivor the ‘most emotionally draining game on TV’ – I’d give Tipping Point that honour."[28] Helen Fear of Entertainment Daily was heavily critical of the series' host, writing "Joel Dommett is just wrong for this show. He needs to drop the dad jokes, and the awful puns. Where’s the tension?" and its Tribal Council's, writing "the tribal councils are plodding, and drawn-out. There was no suspense or tension. There was no humour or personality. Instead, it was a predictable vote."[29] In a mixed review, Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian wrote "It isn’t a reinvention of the wheel, then, but it is an enjoyable and comfortingly recognisable trip to the beach."[30]

Later reviews of the series were generally positive, praising the gameplay of its final players and its entertaining moments. Adam Miller of METRO warmed up to the series, writing: "Survivor just gets so much better once you’ve got through the first few episodes. I’m completely hooked. You need to invest in the first few slow episodes while learning names and whatnot but these latest episodes are absolutely electric."[31]

Ratings

[edit]

The revival series received underwhelming ratings compared its high budget, earning a fraction of the viewership of series 21 of Strictly Come Dancing, the show which aired before it on BBC One, causing crisis talks to ponder on how to improve the series' viewership.[32] The low viewership of the series was mostly blamed on people watching on BBC iPlayer, its time slot, and its channel.[33]

Cancellation

[edit]

In August 2024, the BBC had announced that Survivor has been axed after just one series due to a struggle in ratings.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Darvill, Josh (October 14, 2023). "Survivor UK 2023 start date and first look at new series". tellymix. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  2. ^ Etherige, Loz (October 25, 2023). "The Reawakening Of A Hibernating Giant: The Return Of Survivor UK – Interviews with Richard Hatch and Sarah Odell". God is in the TV. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  3. ^ Kibble-White, Graham (October 23, 2023). "'The apex predator of reality shows': the return of Survivor". The Telegraph. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Lewis, Isobel. "Meet the cast of Survivor UK, the gruelling reality show rebooted by the BBC". The Independent. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  5. ^ BBC (November 11, 2023). "Survivor UK - Everything you need to know about the new series". BBC Online. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Copson, Josie (October 14, 2023). "Meet the cast of Survivor as BBC drops nail-biting trailer to ultimate physical and psychological game show". Metro Weekly. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  7. ^ Munro, Lucretia (October 14, 2023). "BBC Survivor 2023 line-up in full - singer and Cambridge graduate to semi-pro footballer". Daily Mirror. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Rosseinsky, Katie (October 19, 2023). "Survivor Is Returning To UK Screens – Here's What We Know So Far About The BBC Reboot". Yahoo. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  9. ^ "Survivor UK Final Five reveal strategy secrets and explain why they believe they deserve to be Sole Survivor". BBC. December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  10. ^ Copson, Josie (December 16, 2023). "Survivor winner only wanted to do one thing after emotional victory". METRO. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  11. ^ Henry, Grace (December 16, 2023). "Survivor 2023 reveals winner as contestant takes home £100,000 cash prize". Radio Times. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  12. ^ Lewis, George (December 16, 2023). "Survivor crowns first winner of rebooted series". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  13. ^ "Banijay Acquire Castaway Productions, Could Survivor UK Return?". July 20, 2017.
  14. ^ "BBC on brink of Survivor reboot". Broadcast. August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  15. ^ Mahapatra, Tuhin Das (October 19, 2023). "BBC confirms premiere date for Survivor UK revival". Hindustan Times. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  16. ^ "Survivor will land on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2023". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  17. ^ Westbrook, Caroline (October 28, 2023). "Where is Survivor UK filmed? A look at the location of the BBC series". Metro. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  18. ^ Venn, Lydia (October 27, 2023). "Survivor UK: Where is the reality show filmed?". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  19. ^ Mensah, Katelyn (October 28, 2023). "Where was Survivor UK 2023 filmed?". Radio Times. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  20. ^ Scott, Fiona (October 24, 2023). "Mull man beats thousands to win place on TV's new Survivor show". The Oban Times. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  21. ^ Ravindran, Manori (November 24, 2022). "'Survivor' U.K. Opens Casting for Historic BBC Edition". Variety.
  22. ^ Shaw, Neil (November 24, 2022). "You can apply to be on Survivor as reality TV show makes comeback". HullLive.
  23. ^ "The tribe has spoken and Joel Dommett is confirmed to host Survivor, lighting a torch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer". www.bbc.co.uk. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  24. ^ "10 Play: Survivor UK | TV Tonight". October 27, 2023.
  25. ^ https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/survivor-uk
  26. ^ Reines, Jeff (October 15, 2019). "Cornwall's one-legged surfer Pegleg Bennett in Japan to take on monster typhoon Hagibis waves". Cornwall News. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Weekly Top 50 Shows". BARB. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  28. ^ Toner, Aine (November 2, 2023). "Joel Dommett christens Survivor the 'most emotionally draining game on TV' – I'd give Tipping Point that honour". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  29. ^ Fear, Helen (November 6, 2023). "REVIEW: As a huge Survivor fan, I'm gutted the Beeb has got this series SO wrong". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  30. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (October 28, 2023). "Survivor review – what did these whingeing contestants expect? A lovely trip to Center Parcs?". The Guardian. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  31. ^ Miller, Adam (December 15, 2023). "Fans 'completely hooked' by BBC's 'hidden gem' that's been forgotten". Metro. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  32. ^ Glover, Patrick (December 16, 2023). "Who won Survivor UK 2023 and took home the £100,000 prize?". Braintree and Whitham Times. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  33. ^ A Leigh, Janet (November 8, 2023). "Why BBC's big-budget Survivor reboot has been branded a flop". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
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